236 MOSQUITO ERADICATION 



this duty, by telling them something about the breeding-habits of mosquitoes 

 and about practical and easy ways to prevent such breeding. 



It should be fully understood that there is absolutely no doubt that 

 mosquitoes spread malaria and other diseases, nor that mosquitoes can be 

 virtually done away with in any ordinary community. The work on the 

 Panama Canal Zone and in numerous other places has fully demonstrated 

 the truth of these statements. 



Some Common Breeding-places about the Average Home. — Mosquitoes 

 breed only in standing or slowly running water. The belief that they 

 breed in grass, bushes or other such places was exploded many years ago. 

 Hence, if we are to do away with mosquitoes, we must either do away with 

 the water or else take steps to prevent them from breeding in it. These 

 other steps include screening, oiling, stocking with mosquito-destroying 

 fish, etc. Which of these measures to take in any particular case depends 

 upon the circumstances, as will be explained directly. 



The usual breeding-places of mosquitoes about homes are: cisterns; 

 barrels, tubs and buckets of water; shallow wells; pools of water from rains, 

 leaky pipes, etc.; tin cans, bottles, etc., that hold water; water-troughs; 

 cess-pools that are not tightly covered; certain types of privies that mos- 

 quitoes can enter; stopped-up roof gutters, etc. In fact, any collection 

 of water that a mosquito can get to is likely to become a breeding-place. 



How to Handle the Various Breeding-places.— The best measure to take 

 to stop breeding in any certain case depends upon the nature of the breeding- 

 place. Thus, where possible, pools of water should be drained; if they 

 cannot be drained, they should be oiled (that is, covered with a visible 

 film of kerosene or other light mineral oil) once a week or else stocked with 

 mosquito-destroying fish, which may be obtained from the City. 1 Surface 

 cisterns should be screened in such manner that they will be mosquito- 

 proof; underground cisterns should be tightly covered or else stocked with a 

 few mosquito-destroying fish. Barrels, tubs and buckets of water should 

 either be screened with burlap or netting or else oiled once a week or else 

 emptied and thoroughly dried out once a week. The best way to handle 

 shallow wells is to stock each with two or three mosquito destroying fish, 

 which will in no way injure the water. Tin cans, bottles, etc., should 

 either be buried or hauled away. Water-troughs should be emptied and 

 then dried out thoroughly once a week. Cess-pools, etc., should be tightly 

 covered and mosquito-breeding privies should be well oiled, after which the 

 lids should be kept closed down, whenever the privy is not in use. Stopped- 

 up roof gutters should be cleaned out and, where necessary, re-hung. 



Make Inspection of Your Premises Once Every Week. — The City 1 

 expects citizens to eliminate or otherwise take care of any and all of the above- 

 mentioned classes of breeding-places that may be on their premises. One 

 of the best ways of doing this is for each citizen to make a close inspection 

 of his premises at least once a week, and particularly after heavy rains, 

 emptying all unscreened receptacles containing water or else oiling or other- 

 wise treating them, paying particular attention to tin cans, etc. The reason 

 for making the inspection weekly is that it requires only a little more than a 

 week for the full-fledged mosquito to develop from the egg. 



1 Substitute Town or Village, where necessary. 



